Cycle News

OFF ROAD MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 12/OCTOBER 10, 2015 TWIN RING MOTEGI/MOTEGI, JAPAN P62 were slowing; the Honda just getting into its stride. Lorenzo was worst off, saying ruefully later: "If I had known when he gained fourth, was more than four seconds, but over the next laps, it shrank with increasing rapidity. The Yamahas any closer, but he'd been able to resist strong, early pressure from Andrea Dovizioso's Ducati, before the red bike ran into early grip problems and started to drop away. Just before half distance, Pe- drosa caught and easily passed the Italian as he again ran wide into a corner. By now the com- plexion of the race had started to change. The gap to Rossi on lap 11, NICCOLO THE WATER WALKER Romano Fenati was on pole for the first time in his Moto3 career, from Miguel Oliveira and Jorge Navarro, but the Italian's pleasure was to be short-lived—a rotten start meant he fin- ished the first lap 10th, and fell off on the third without making any progress. It was young compatriot Niccolo Antonelli who showed the way, taking an immediate lead from the second row, and then producing a race that Lorenzo would have been proud of, rapidly making himself uncatchable, then control the gap to the end for his second GP win–the first was at Brno. Livio Loi was heading the pursuit from Oliveira and Hiroki Ono, but the Japanese rider crashed out on lap three. Loi lasted only a couple more laps before he too slipped off, by when Oliveira was third, but more than three seconds behind the Honda. Oliveira then had to have a threat from teammate Brad Binder, and had seen him off when the South African also fell out of third, the third podium candidate to do so. Isaac Vinales had come with him; but all the while Navarro had been carving through from a rotten start, finishing lap one 13th. Fourth seemed the best he could hope for until Vina- les slipped off at the hairpin, remount- ing to lose only one position. Zulfahmi Khairuddin was close, a couple of seconds clear of the main group. This was led over the line by Danny Kent. The Leopard Honda rider had been cautious in the early laps, but typically gained places in the closing stages. His last victim was his only remaining title rival Enea Bastianini, and though taking sixth off him on the last lap only gained Kent one point, the psychological advantage was more important. Karel Hanika was still close, John McPhee just dropping off the back as he fended off a late attack from Efren Vazquez and Jorge Martin. The pair (Above) Two weeks it was Lorenzo shaking Dani's hand, now it's Rossi! Pedrosa is playing an increasingly important role in the outcome of the championship. (Right) Here Pol Espargaro attempts a crash early before successfully sending it up the road big style late in the race.

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